ALA Legal Management: Heading into the Cloud? Embrace Compromise

In the last ‘Thinking out cloud’ column from Jobst Elster, (Head of Content & Legal Market Strategy, InsideLegal), he talked about legal’s move to cloud-first and the business case for using cloud services in support of firms’ transformation to more agile, innovative business models. As legal IT and firm leadership move in this direction, one thing is clear: The road ahead is bumpy, often unchartered and full of compromise.

From a strategic technology perspective, most forward-thinking firms operate on the notion that the days of custom, roll-out-your-own general services is ending. It may take some firms 20 years to get there, but it is clearly the future for IT in law firms. The move to the cloud is key to this future, because the power of one — meaning all clients run and operate the same cloud version of a given application — only works if there is compromise and a willingness to negotiate.

About the Author

Jobst Elster is InsideLegal’s Head of Content and Legal Market Strategy. He has served as a legal market strategist for the last 17 years, advising companies entering the legal market, involved in mergers and acquisitions, and expanding strategic operations overseas. Elster regularly writes and speaks on legal technology, market research and leveraging market data, technology innovations and futures, legal marketing and big data.